Boston Professional Events List

Workshop: Achieving Web Accessibility

Date

Link to Website

Organizer

Venue

Perkins School for the Blind

Location

175,
Beacon St

Watertown,

MA,

USA,

ZIP: 02472

Phone:

Your website needs to be accessible: It's smart business. It's the right thing to do. It's the law.

An accessible website is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a necessity. And ignoring it can result in serious consequences. In just over a year, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against corporations and other organizations alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specifically for failure to maintain websites accessible to the blind and visually impaired, according to Law360.¹

The organizations that are getting it right are proactive, innovative – and driven by internal champions who understand the critical value of accessibility.

¹ Law360, December 2016: Trending: ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits

Workshop details

Where does your site stand? You need to find out so you can get your website right.

The expert team at Perkins Access is delivering its unique three-pronged approach to website accessibility in a workshop format, covering the legal and technical aspects of web accessibility as well as what successful user experiences look like for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Who needs to attend this workshop?

Your organization’s change agents, innovators and stewards. That could be everyone from leadership to management to IT/web teams to legal and disability services.

Why the urgency?

Because you want to be on the right side of the law.

Because you want real-world expertise when it comes to achieving web accessibility that works for everyone.

Because your reputation matters: you’ll become a leader in inclusion.

What does the workshop cover?

Part 1: Why accessibility matters. Learn by doing. Join us for a guided “access tour” of websites and how they succeed – or fail – when you’re using a screen reader, screen magnification, or navigating only with a keyboard rather than a mouse or by touch. You’ll come away with a totally different perspective on how users can access your website, and a profound understanding of what it’s like when a website doesn’t work.

Part 2: Understanding your legal responsibilities. Be on the right side of the law. We’ll cover where disability and accessibility laws stand, what it means for you and your website today, and where things are headed. Heard the news? On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Access Board announced a final ruling that updates the technical standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. What does this mean and how does it apply to your website? We’ll make sure you know the answers.

Part 3: What is WCAG 2.0 and how do you meet it? The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are the international technical standards for website accessibility – don’t miss this chance to gain a clear understanding of what they are and how they relate to the accessibility and usability of your organization’s online assets.

We’ll walk you through the success criteria of WCAG 2.0 and provide techniques and approaches for meeting many of them, including alternative text for images, keyboard-only navigation, use of color, accessible forms, tables and more.

What are the take-aways?

Learn what it takes to achieve an accessible web presence that works for all.

Understand what you need to build an action plan that defines clear next steps to achieve web accessibility.

Put your organization in a position to send a clear message to employees, existing and potential customers – and competitors – that you value everyone.

About the Perkins Access team

Perkins Access is an innovation arm of Perkins School for the Blind, the first such school in the U.S. and a 188-year-young leader in accessibility and education for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Our team combines our firsthand knowledge and technical expertise with best practices to improve your web presence for maximum user impact. As a recognized innovation leader in accessible technology, we put our accessibility solutions to the test in real-world scenarios every day. Check out our story, including client comments.